Ariana's Legacy
by Gaian Sorceress
Summary: Ariana, suddenly whisked away into a world of FF9, realizes that she's not so sure she wants to go back to the real world. And what's this strange connection in her dreams with the man with purple hair? R/R! Chapter 16 is up!
1. Chapter 1 The Prima Vista

Disclaimer: Ok..I don't own the FF9 characters or locations *unfortunately*, just my character, Ariana. That's about it.  
  
Author's Note: This is my first fan fic, and because of this, I'm expecting reviews telling me how lame I am, and how stupid my story sounds *oh poo!* REVIEW PLEASE!!  
  
"What a boring day!" Ariana exclaimed outloud to herself. She sat on the couch in her living room with her feet up on the table, twirling her long brown hair between two fingers. With her other hand, she flipped through the TV channels with the remote. After finding nothing to her interest, she gave up and clicked the power button off. For only 16 years old, she got bored way too easily.  
  
Ariana stood up, stretched her back, and looked around the room. "Why is the summer so boring? Isn't it supposed to be fun? I almost wish I was back in school." She shuddered at the thought. All the summers before had always been fun, back before her parent had divorced. There was always one parent at home that she could do something fun with. Now, however, she could only sit and wait for her mom to get home, who even then didn't want to do anything but relax. Mom was always tired recently from having to work so much to support her two children. Of course, Dad paid child support, but his lack of presence in their lives caused a lot of problems for Ariana. She missed him, but lately he seemed too wrapped up in his latest love, who was only six years older than her. She felt lost without him around. He was her world, and now that he was gone, only Mom remained, and although she tried her hardest, she couldn't be two parents at once. Ariana didn't blame her though. She loved her mom very much, and tried to help her around the house as best she could. If only Dad had eyes only for Mom. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be, and Ariana suffered in silence, keeping a smile on for Mom, who took it the hardest, of course. Her younger brother Matt, who was twelve, was at summer camp and didn't know of the divorce yet. She dreaded having to be around when he found out.  
  
Suddenly she remembered the Playstation in her little brother's room that he'd gotten for Christmas. Ariana walked out of the living room and down the hall. Matt's room was next to hers, and since he was away at summer camp, and luckily for her, he wasn't allowed to take his games with him.  
  
She sat down in front of his TV, and looked around for a game to play. A stack of games sat next to the game console, and flipped through them, until she found one that looked interesting.  
  
"Final Fantasy 9. Hmm...", she said aloud.  
  
Ariana opened the case, took out the first disc, and placed it in the Playstation. Then she turned the power on and grabbed the controller. The usual credits rolled, and music played as she chose "New Game."  
  
Suddenly, a beam of white light flashed across the television screen, blinding her temporarily, and the floor began to shake as though it was suffering from convulsions. She felt a slight tug from behind her navel, and felt herself being pulled in some unknown direction. She was being spun around wildly, and she opened her eyes in the midst of it. Bright colors were blinking all around her, and she saw glimpses of trees and unanimate objects flying past her. She squeezed her eyes shut again, beginning to feel nauseated. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the spinning stopped, and she was thrown forward onto a wooden floor. Ariana landed hard on her hands and knees, and groaning, pulled herself up to a standing position.  
  
She looked around, and saw that she was in a room with a table in the center, two doors, and a set of stairs leading upwards. She started towards a door, when she heard footsteps on the other side of it. Quickly she hid under the table, and to her surprise, a blonde boy of about her age walked in. Ariana jumped slightly, when he turned around because she noticed that he had a tail.  
  
"Sure is dark... Guess nobody's here yet...", the boy said.  
  
She decided to reveal herself, and stood up. The boy was startled and jumped into a fighting position. He then noticed she was only a girl, and straightened himself back up.  
  
"Where'd you come from?" He asked.  
  
"I don't know, I just sort of...landed here by accident. Where am I?" Ariana asked him.  
  
He brushed his hair back with his hand and said, "You're on the Prima Vista Theatre Ship, and we're heading to Alexandria, to put on the play 'I Want to Be Your Canary' for Queen Brahne and Princess Garnet."  
  
"Woah!" Ariana mumbled to herself. "I'm in the Final Fantasy 9 game! How did this happen?"  
  
"What did you say?" asked the boy.  
  
"Oh, nothing. Hey, what's your name anyway?"  
  
"Zidane," he replied, lighting a candle, "and who are you?"  
  
"Um...my name is Ariana..." Once again, she looked around, hardly believing what had obviously happened.  
  
"Nice to meet you."  
  
He held out his hand, and as they shook, they heard a voice shout, "Who's there?"  
  
"It's me, Zidane, and my friend, Ariana!" Zidane shouted.  
  
Three men came out of the other door, all armed with a different weapon.  
  
A red-haired guy said, "Hey, Zidane! You sure are late!"  
  
Zidane replied, "Sorry, so where's the boss?"  
  
"Not here yet," another of the men said.  
  
"Oh, well this is Ariana. Seems she's gotten herself lost, and found herself on our ship. Ariana, this is Blank, Marcus, and that weird-looking guy there is Cinna." He pointed them out to her, and she giggled when he pointed to the piggy looking man called Cinna.  
  
They all waved "hello" to her. Suddenly, somebody jumped down from the stairs wearing some type of mask. Ariana hid once again, and watched the four men slash at the mask-wearer. *lol, i didn't know what else to put!*  
  
After a few rounds of attacks, the mask split apart to reveal a large man, who yelled "Hey, fools! You're lookin' a lot better! Gwahahaha!"  
  
Once again, she emerged from under the table, and the man stepped back, surprised.  
  
Zidane stepped in and said, "Boss, this is Ariana, a friend of mine. Ariana, this is the leader of Tantalus, his name is Baku."  
  
"Um. Hello, Baku." Ariana managed.  
  
Baku looked her up and down, and yelled, "She looks smart enough to be a member of Tantalus! Ever done any thiefin'?" he asked her.  
  
"No, sir. Tantalus is a group of actor/thieves? Woah...can I join?"  
  
"I'll think about it. Alright! Let's start this meeting already!" he shouted. 


	2. Chapter 2 Kidnapping the Princess

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about FF9, only my character Ariana.  
  
Author's Note: Enjoy and REVIEW!!  
  
Ariana followed them into an adjacent room, where they stood around Baku waiting for him to speak.  
  
"Here's the plan!" He shouted. "Tantalus, the infamous band of daring thieves (that's us), is headin' to the Kingdom of Alexandria... Our mission: to kidnap the heir to the throne, Princess Garnet!"  
  
Ariana gasped excitedly. Zidane looked at her and put his finger to his lips to shush her. Baku began giving out instructions as to who had what part in the scheme.  
  
"Hey, you!" He pointed his finger straight at her, and she looked at him.  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"You will be here, helping Blank and Zidane with the oglops. While Cinna, Marcus, and Ruby are out there on stage, you will help them distract the audience and kidnap the princess. Are we clear?"  
  
"Crystal!" she replied enthusiastically. "So does this mean that I'm a member of Tantalus?"  
  
Baku nodded, and said "Alright, let's get going!"  
  
"Yay!" she shouted.  
  
The group departed, and she was left alone with Zidane and Blank.  
  
"Ariana, this is what I want you to do. Blank's takin' care of the oglops, and.."  
  
"What's an oglop?" she interrupted.  
  
The two guys looked at each other, and Blank smiled and said, "They're slimy bugs."  
  
"Eeww!!!" she screeched, as he grabbed a bag full of oglops off the shelf.  
  
"Ok, anyways. When Blank is doing that, I need you to come with me to kidnap the princess. Can you do that?" Zidane asked her.  
  
"Well...yeah."  
  
"Ok!"  
  
She followed them to the stage, and looked around at all the people waiting for the play to begin. Ariana watched as Cinna, Marcus, Blank, and Zidane practiced their lines. Soon they went on stage, and she saw Zidane and Blank perform a magnificently choreographed sword fight.  
  
After they came off stage, she congratulated them, "Wow! Impressive!" Zidane smiled, and grabbed her arm. They ran toward the castle, and Ariana looked up in time to see the Princess and the Queen watching the play. The Princess looked sad from here, but she wasn't sure. Soon, she found herself being led into a room inside the great hall of the castle. She turned around as the guys beat two guards and slipped into their armor.  
  
They complained about how smelly or badly-fitting the armor was, but kept it on anyways. Zidane tapped her on her shoulder, signaling that she could turn back around. "Come on," he said. The three of them left the room, and went up a set of stairs. At the top Zidane met a girl wearing a hooded robe. She saw him circle the girl, and ask her something, but she pushed him away and ran down the stairs, knocking both Ariana and Blank over, too.  
  
Blank stood up and yelled, "Who the heck was that!?"  
  
"That was Princess Garnet! Hurry!" Zidane shouted.  
  
Ariana immediately got up. She had tumbled over backwards and landed on her butt at the bottom of the stairs. She rubbed her backside, and started to run towards the girl.  
  
They chased the princess up to one of the castle's towers, and the hooded girl climbed on top of the edge. Ariana watched her smile at Zidane, and she suddenly let herself fall backwards off the ledge. Ariana screamed, and looked over to see that the girl had grabbed some sort of rope and was swinging down. Zidane and Ariana both jumped onto the rope at the same time, and she had to grab his leg to hold herself up.  
  
"Hey!" he shouted to her and shook his leg loose. "Quit!"  
  
"Sorry!" She yelled up to him, and got a better grip on the rope. Beneath her she noticed that they weren't the only ones on the rope. A large armored man, had been holding onto another rope, but suddenly smashed into the side of the tower. *ouch* Ariana cringed, and held on tighter. The Princess landed on the theatre ship and knocked over a bunch of musicians as she ran. Ariana and Zidane fell on top of each other, and she quickly got up sheepishly.  
  
"Sorry again," she muttered, looking at the floor.  
  
"That's okay," he said, rubbing his head. "Come on, before she gets away."  
  
Once again they took off, and ran into a room where a girl with a weird accent was yelling. She saw them and immediately ran to Zidane. "Hey, Zidane! Did you see the way she hit me!?  
  
This cowgirl's wilder than a buckin' bronco!"  
  
"Just let me talk to her, Ruby! We'll talk later!" he replied.  
  
Ariana and Zidane ran down a pair of stairs, leaving the blue haired girl fuming upstairs. Ariana found herself in the same room she had first seen on the ship, with the candle in the center of the room. The hooded girl was there, and Zidane grabbed her arm.  
  
"Do you work on this ship?" the Princess asked him.  
  
He nodded and she threw back her hood. "I'm sure you already knew that I was Princess Garnet Til Alexandros the 17th."  
  
"Woah, what a name!" Ariana exclaimed.  
  
The princess smiled, and said "I wish to be kidnapped, as soon as possible. Will you do that for me?"  
  
Zidane grabbed her hand, and said, "Yes. I will hereby be your official kidnapper."  
  
They heard a voice yell, "Princess?" And Garnet threw her hood back on. "Hide me! They've come for me!"  
  
"Follow me!" Zidane went into the next room, and Ariana saw Cinna waiting there. Quickly they jumped into an escape hatch he'd had ready for them. Again, they heard someone yelling "Princess!!" over and over again.  
  
Together they ran through the bottom of the ship, and ran into a room, only to come face to face with the heavily armored man that had crashed into the tower.  
  
"Steiner!" The princess yelled. "Let us go!" 


	3. Chapter 3 The Play

Disclaimer: I don't own any FF9 characters or locations, just Ariana.  
  
Author's Note: Thank you so much for the good reviews :) Glad to know someone's reading my story!  
  
Blank walked in after Steiner, still dressed in Pluto Knight's armor, and Steiner looked at him confused, noticing that it wasn't one of his knights. "How dare you!" He exclaimed.  
  
They got into a battle, Steiner trying to slash Zidane and Blank with his broadsword. Ariana, hid once again, not having a weapon to defend herself with. She was beginning to become embarrassed because of this.  
  
After the battle, Blank let loose his bag of oglops, and everyone start running around screaming. Ariana jumped out of her hiding spot, and Zidane yelled "Come on! Here's our chance!" The Princess followed right behind, and soon they found theirselves on the stage.  
  
"Oh God" Ariana thought.  
  
Zidane whispered to her and Garnet, "Improvise!!"  
  
Ariana watched as the Princess pretended to be Cornelia, Marcus's lover. "Wow, " she thought, "Garnet's not too bad of an actress."  
  
Suddenly, Steiner ran out onto the stage, also.  
  
Baku, as King Leo, asked him, "Prince Schneider, dost thou not want to marry Princess Cornelia?"  
  
Steiner looked around confused, "Me?!?! Marry the princess?!"  
  
In the play, Cornelia is accidentally stabbed, and as Marcus's mourns for her, a little pointy-hat kid ran on stage chased by two guards. Steiner started acting all retarded, because he thought the Princess was actually dead, so Ariana kicked him in the knees, which only ended up in her hurting her own foot due to his metal armor. She started hopping around on one foot, when she realized that the Princess's hoodie caught on fire because the little pointy-hat kid did a fire spell at the guards who were chasing him.  
  
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" The Princess stood up and accidentally revealed herself.  
  
Baku yelled to Zidane, "Come on! It's time!"  
  
Zidane grabbed the Princess's arm and said "Let's ditch Sir Rust-a-lot, and get outta here!"  
  
Ariana limped toward the exit, and helped the little pointy-hat kid up. "You okay?"  
  
"Y-y-yeah, I just tripped." He stammered out.  
  
"Well, you don't wanna hang out around here anymore, so come on." She grabbed his arm, and they jumped onto the theatre ship. They started to run, but she ran smack into the back of Zidane, who just got done attacking Steiner. A huge fire ball, was growing bigger and bigger behind Steiner's head.  
  
"Hey dumbass! Look behind you!" Ariana yelled at him.  
  
Steiner said, "What kind of fool do you think I am?" And slashed at Vivi with his sword.  
  
Vivi, in rebuttal, cast Fire on him, and the battle ended. Steiner finally turned around, and saw the Fire bomb. Steiner jumped out of the path of the bomb, which hit the ship causing it to explode.  
Author's 2nd Note: Okay, this chapter's kinda slow, and stupid...but next chapter it will start getting good...sorry, I just didn't have enough time to write this chap today! 


	4. Chapter 4 The Evil Forest

Disclaimer: I don't own FF9, the characters, locations, etc. I only own Ariana.  
  
Author's Note: R & R please! Thankies ^_^  
  
The Prima Vista lurched mid-air, smoke trailing thickly behind it, and began descending over a dark mass of forest below.  
  
"Oh, no!" Ariana screamed, "We're gonna crash!!"  
  
She felt the ship jerk as it broke through the trees, and held on tight to Zidane as it finally came to a halt on the forest floor. By the time Ariana was able to sit up, the engines on the ship had come to a complete stop. She felt something wriggle underneath her, and quickly stood up to see that she had been sitting on Zidane.  
  
"Oh, sorry Zidane," she grinned sheepishly, turning red once again.  
  
"That's quite alright," and he smiled right back at her. He stood and rubbed his arm where she'd been sitting, and looked around. They'd been thrown off the airship, which was now completely wasted. Baku and Cinna were just standing up, too.  
  
Baku grunted something about his back, and asked everyone if they were alright. Some nods were seen and a few "yea"s were heard.  
  
That was when she noticed that the Princess, Steiner, and the little black mage were nowhere to be found.  
  
"Uh, Zidane?" she tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, I know," Zidane said, looking around at the burning wreckage of the Prima Vista. "Hey Baku, we're missing a few of our party," Zidane yelled to his boss.  
  
Baku starting barking out orders. "Cinna, go check and make sure no one is left on the ship. Blank, go get the fire under control, dammit!"  
  
Zidane went up to Baku and said, "Hey boss, I'm going into the forest to look for Garnet, and that little guy. Who cares about Rusty.."  
  
"Yeah, if we don't find the princess, we're all dead meat," Cinna said.  
  
"Whatever, Zidane, but if you get killed it's your loss. Gwahahaha..just be careful," Baku replied gruffly.  
  
Ariana chirped up, "Wait, Zidane! Don't leave me here!"  
  
He nodded to her, and said, "Alright, but grab a weapon off the ship, and hurry up."  
  
Quickly she ran inside the burning ship, and grabbed the first thing she saw off the broken floor. It was a rusted blade of some sort, but she took it nonetheless. She went back outside to find Zidane waiting for her. They started walking, when suddenly a little pink creature came up to them.  
  
It said some weird word, like "Kupo", and then said something about an A- T-E, whatever that is. Ariana, now thoroughly confused, tugged on Zidanes shirt, and he stopped talking to the creature.  
  
"What was that?" she asked him, looking back at it.  
  
"Oh, that's a moogle. He gives us tents and stuff when we need rest." Zidane replied, laughing at her lack of knowledge.  
  
"Oh, okay. Hey, do you know how to get back to the ship?"  
  
"Not exactly, but stick with me and you'll be alright."  
  
They stopped suddenly, when ahead of them they saw the little mage backing away from something. Steiner was standing there too, yelling something about letting the princess go.  
  
Ariana and Zidane ran to see that they were hollering at a plant-like creature who had the Princess locked inside of it.  
  
Vivi saw them and stammered, "Sh-She's in trouble..."  
  
"Zidane...What the hell is that?" Ariana screamed.  
  
"Release the Princess at once!" Steiner yelled at it.  
  
"Yeah, like it's gonna really listen to you. Come on!" Zidane motioned toward the cage-plant, and Ariana followed, not wanting to back down from another fight.  
  
She helped Zidane and Steiner slash at the weird plant but after a few hits it ran away with the Princess still trapped inside it. "Oh no!" Ariana gasped.  
  
Zidane tired reassuring her, sort of, "Don't worry. She's not dead yet. That monster was only a minion. He's probably gonna take her to it's master."  
  
Steiner sighed, and said, "Well come on! She might still be alive!"  
  
"I'm sorry! I was too scared to help. I should've cast a spell...," said the little mage.  
  
Ariana put her hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, I was scared, too. What's your name?"  
  
"Vivi."  
  
"I'm Ariana, and that's Zidane. Well, come on, we've gotta go find the princess."  
  
Suddenly the monster jumped down and trapped Vivi in it's cage. Vivi started casting Fire on it, while Ariana, Zidane, and Steiner slashed at it. Instead of running away, it whithered away and released Vivi.  
  
"Woah! Thanks!" Vivi said to them.  
  
The monster suddenly let out some sort of steam attack and caught Steiner and Vivi off guard. Now weak, they had to be taken back to the ship, and saving the Princess would have to wait.  
  
Author's Second Note: Yeah, I know..this chapter sucks...but next chapter things will start getting better...Thanks for reviewing if you did!! ^_^ 


	5. Chapter 5 Quitting Tantalus

Disclaimer: Yea, yea, yea..ya know..so what if I don't own FF9?? ('S NOT FAIR!!) Oh well, it's still fun to play with them...*cackles evilly* Gwahahahaha  
  
Okay, as editor of this here story (or whatever it is you wanna call it), I'd like to say one smidgin' of uninteresting info, that probably no one will either read, or care about it -- I LOVE KUJA!!!!! ((And for you retards that think he's got a thong on..you're wrong!! it's a cod piece!! GRRRR)) Ok, I feel better now. Anyways, I'm going to start playing around with the storyline now....I've been sticking to the plot, but I feel like doing something different. Enjoy, because if I get some good reviews, then I'll continue.  
  
Ariana helped Zidane carry Vivi back to the Prima Vista, listening to Steiner's incoherent mumbling the entire way. They quickly became sick of hearing him, and simultaneously yelled, "SHUT UP!!". Steiner finally decided to pipe down the rest of the way back, and when they finally reached the tattered ruins of the Prima Vista, they took Vivi inside and lay him down in an empty room.  
  
Blank gave Vivi some potion to rid the mage of the seeds the creature had produced inside of him. When he recovered, Zidane and Ariana were standing beside him.  
  
He sat up and looked around for a moment before saying weakly to Zidane, "Woah. Thank you for saving me again."  
  
Zidane shook his head and replied, "Don't mention it. It was your black magic that saved the day. You know, you've got some major power for such a little guy."  
  
Vivi looked down at himself and didn't say anything.  
  
Ariana walked over the bed and sat down beside the little mage. "What's the matter?" She put her arm around him as he sat up.  
  
"Oh, it's just that when that monster took the Princess, I couldn't do anything about it." Once again, he looked down at himself, as though he were ashamed.  
  
"Aw, don't worry Vivi. Me and Zidane will find the princess, we promise. Don't we Zi?" She looked up at Zidane, who had distorted his face at the sound of the word "Zi".  
  
"Uh, yeah. But would you mind just callin' me Zidane please?" He replied, shaking his head.  
  
"See, Vivi? There's nothing to worry about. Anyways, you did great out there." Ariana stood up and grabbed Zidane's arm. "Come on, Zidane, let's go look for the princess now. She can't have been taken too far."  
  
Zidane looked at her hand on his arm and smiled. "Alrighty, let's get goin'."  
  
Together they walked out of the ship, but as soon as they stepped outside Ariana ran smack into Baku. "Geez! Why the hell am I always running into people?" She yelled out loud.  
  
Baku towered over her and gave Zidane the look of the devil himself. "And just where do you think you're going?"  
  
"We're going to look for the princess, but we've got to hurry, so if you don't mind.." Ariana started.  
  
Interrupting her, Baku retorted, "Oh, no ya don't! My boys come before that princess any day, and right now we need to get out of here. Nobody's ever gone into this forest and come out alive."  
  
Zidane, apparently pissed now replied, "Well, I guess we'll just have to duke it out then, won't we?"  
  
Baku laughed, "Gwahaha..Alright then."  
  
Ariana watched as Zidane and Baku started to fight, and when Zidane won, she couldn't help but clap for him.  
  
"Well," Baku coughed, defeated, "If that's what you really wanna do. Go find your princess!  
  
Gwahahahaha...." He turned and went inside the Prima Vista.  
  
Vivi ran out of the entryway followed by Steiner. "Wait!" The little mage shouted, "We wanna go with you, too!"  
  
"Alright, but hurry up! We're losing precious time here," Ariana told them.  
  
The mage, the thief, the knight, and the um..girl....walked off into the forest. THE END!  
  
Just kidding!! Lol..Chapter 6 will soon be up. I forgot most of what happened at this point in the game..so I had to improvise..sorry..I'm expecting some flames. After this chapter, things are going to start getting weird.  
  
Also, I can't decide if I should do Ariana/Zidane...because Garnet and Zidane are just meant to be ya know? But, I can't help but wonder...what if? HELP ME OUT !! (thanks if you do!) 


	6. Chapter 6 Tuggle

Disclaimer: I don't own FF9, just Ariana.  
  
As they walked, Ariana's mind began to wander. "How the hell did I end up here in the first place?" she thought to herself. "Woah, Zidane has a cute butt. Oh yeah, why does he have a tail?"  
  
"Hey Zidane?" she asked. "Why do you have a tail? I mean you look human and all, but normal people don't have tails."  
  
"Honestly? I don't know. It's been there all my life. I don't know my parents, so I can't say I got it from them, but I also can't say I didn't either," he replied.  
  
"Oh, okay." Once again her mind began to wander, but she was interrupted by Zidane.  
  
He looked at her when he said, "How did you get here? I don't remember you being on board when we left from Lindblum. I asked Blank and he says he didn't see you either."  
  
"Well, I remember I was really bored, and I decided to play my brother's Playstation. I put Final Fantasy 9 in, and suddenly I found myself on your theater ship. Frankly, I'm not sure how long I'll be here."  
  
Zidane had stopped in his tracks, and was staring at her, looking completely bewildered. Alarmed, Ariana stammered out, "W-What? Did you see something?"  
  
"No...what the hell is a Playstation? And what is a final fantasy?" He had begun walking again, now focused on her. The little black mage and Steiner were behind them engrossed their own conversation.  
  
"Eh, you really wouldn't understand. Let's just say I'm from another planet," Ariana said to him.  
  
He nodded his head, and they continued to walk through the dense forest. Weirds sounds of woodland beasts could be heard all around them, and Ariana shivered to think of what would happen if they met one. She scooted a little closer to Zidane so that they're arms touched. He glanced at her and smiled, but she looked away, not trying to be romantic.  
  
She turned her head around to see if Steiner and Vivi were still there. They were walking along behind them, still having some sort of conversation, Steiner pointing animatedly at Zidane.  
  
"Hey, Steiner!" Zidane yelled to the knight, "You can quit talking about how much you want to murder me. The princess wanted to be kidnapped, just so you know."  
  
"Even so. I'm not only going with you to rescue the princess! I will deal with you personally when this is over!" Steiner growled at him.  
  
Zidane shook his head and said, "Whatever..."  
  
To Ariana's surprise, a little creature ran over to her and jumped into her arms. It looked around frightfully for a moment and shoved its head under her arm to hide it's face, as though it had been chased. Zidane frowned at the shivering furry thing in her hands and looked around the forest in search of it's hunter. He then saw what he had been looking for and ran into a bush, his dagger in hand. Ariana cringed when she heard a pathetic shriek, and saw Zidane come out with a very dead, very scary- looking beast in his hand.  
  
"Bleh!" Ariana exclaimed, her lip curled in disgust, "What IS that?"  
  
Zidane looked down at the bleeding beast triumphantly. "This? Oh, it's a Fang. They're pretty common around here, so you better stick with me if you want to stay safe." He tossed back into the bushes, and creature in Ariana's arms popped it's head out in and sighed loudly, with relief. It looked up at her face and uttered a little "mew?" type of noise. It reminded her of her pet cat, Tuggle, who had died a year ago. She hugged it close to her as the memories of home flooded into her mind. Wow, did she miss Earth or what?  
  
"What's this thing called?" she asked Zidane, who was now walking ahead of her.  
  
He looked back at her and answered, "It's a Mu! They're usually just as fierce as the Fang that was chasing it, but you got lucky and came across a friendly one." He stopped for a second, and asked, "You're not going to keep it are you?"  
  
She hadn't really thought about it, but sensing his disapproval, she happily replied, "Yes, I think I will! I'll name it Tuggle, in memory of my old pet." The Mu tittered happily in reply, and crawled onto her shoulder and sat there as she walked along. She was beginning to feel a little more loved in this strange world called Gaia.  
  
Ariana looked ahead of her and saw a spring of some sort. Another one of those moogle creatures sat perched atop of it.  
  
"Hmm... No sign of any monsters here." Zidane said, and together they walked over to the water,  
  
"A spring..."  
  
Ariana dipped her hand into the water and drank. "Woah!" she exclaimed. "That's refreshing!"  
  
After everyone finished drinking from the spring, they walked further into the forest. When they'd turned a corner, they saw the princess trapped against a wall, while another, larger plant monster guarded her.  
  
"There she is!" Vivi shouted.  
  
"So this is the master.." Zidane said, mystified.  
  
"Come on!" Ariana commanded, "Let's get him!"  
  
Ariana drew out her blade, and like before, slashed at the plant. Vivi was casting Fire on it, which did a lot of damage. Suddenly, Steiner decided to combine Vivi's magic with his sword, and did a huge amount of damage to the plant. Blank ran into the clearing out of nowhere, and joined the battle. Soon, they had completely destroyed the plant, and Blank gave the coughing princess some medicine.  
  
As they stood helping the princess regain conciousness, the ground beneath them began to shake violently. A hole opened up in the forest floor in front of them, and two giant bugs jumped out. Ariana screamed, and Blank yelled, "We're gonna be surrounded! Run!"  
  
Soon, dozens upon dozens, possibly hundreds, of bug creatures were chasing them, and what seemed like the entire forest was coming after them. Blank was suddenly grabbed by one of the bugs because he had pushed Zidane out of the way of it's grasp. He threw Zidane some sort of scroll, and a wave of petrification came over the forest, capturing Blank with it. Ariana screamed again, and grabbed Zidane's hand as they ran. The forest had come alive, and was trying to grab or injure them in any way it possibly could. Finally, they reached the edge of the forest, and made a desperate leap for the exit. They all landed hard on the ground, and rolled over. The Evil Forest made it's final grasp for them, and then froze in motion, as it was quickly petrified.  
  
Zidane stood up, and yelled, "Dammit! That idiot! Blank..."  
  
Ariana limped over to him, and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Zidane."  
  
Author's Note: Okay, they're FINALLY out of the forest. Now, we can really get things going! R & R please! 


	7. Chapter 7 The Ice Cavern

Disclaimer: I don't own FF9, just Ariana.  
  
They decided to make camp outside the now petrified Evil Forest. Ariana sat next to Vivi and a revived Dagger on a small log, warming her hands by the fire. A small makeshift tent was set up behind them., and the flickering fire cast luminous shadows across the front of it. Steiner and Zidane could still be heard arguing about what to do with the Princess.  
  
"...what are you talking about? It was my dagger and Vivi's magic that brought the Princess out of there. You only carried her!" Zidane yelled at the knight.  
  
Steiner shook his head and said, "It is my sworn duty to protect her at any cost! Especially from some monkey thief like you!"  
  
"I thank you both," the Princess spoke, suddenly, causing both men to jump with surprise..  
  
"Oh, Princess, I didn't know you were awake," said Zidane.  
  
She nodded her head, and Steiner started shouting about something again, "That monkey deserves no praise! None of this would've happened if you hadn't abducted the Princess! When we get back to Alexandria, I will--"  
  
Garnet quickly interrupted him. "Steiner...I left the castle because I wanted to. I asked Zidane and his friends to kidnap me."  
  
"See?" Zidane said to Steiner, arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"Impossible!" Steiner said, now outraged.  
  
The Princess nodded her head, and said in a soft voice, "It's true."  
  
Ariana walked over to them and said, "Will you all please just shut up? I am so tired, and I can't sleep with all this arguing. Steiner, just do us all a favor and state your sworn duty."  
  
"To protect the princess, of course," he replied.  
  
"Right then, you protect the campsite, so the princess and the rest of us can get some freakin' sleep!"  
  
"Grrr..."  
  
Soon everyone fell asleep except for Steiner who guarded the campsite. Ariana lay awake for quite a while. She couldn't help but wonder if she would wake up in the same place or back in her bed on Earth. In a way she wished she could be home, but then again she felt her heart was telling her to stay here. It was as if this was supposed to happen, and that something was here for her in the future. Maybe this was her destiny. She hugged Tuggle to her chest and finally, she drifted off to sleep. When Ariana woke up the next morning, she noticed Garnet and Zidane were missing. She stood up and stretched her stiff back. Tuggle yawned, and jumped up onto her shoulder. Ariana decided to walk over to the forest first, to check and see if they were there. Sure enough she spotted the two of them talking.  
  
She walked over to them and Garnet nodded to her, greeting her. "Good morning, Ariana." She reached out to pet Tuggle, and affectionately cooed, "Morning Tuggle!"  
  
"Morning," she replied groggily. "What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing, really. We were just looking at this map Blank gave us. There's a cavern to the south of us. Maybe we can get above the Mist to reach it." Zidane answered.  
  
"Steiner's not gonna be too happy about you being in control, Zidane. Just so you know," Ariana said to him.  
  
He shook his head, "Well, look at my face. Is there any expression of concern or care there? Does it look like I give a crap what he thinks?"  
  
"No..." Ariana replied, giving him an evil look.  
  
She started to walk back to the campsite, feeling unwelcome, but they followed her. Vivi was talking to a moogle about something or other. "Look!" Vivi yelled to them. "Monty gave me a Moogle Flute!"  
  
Ariana jogged over to him, to examine it. "Neat!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Well, let's get going, " Zidane said. As he walked past a snoozing Steiner, he smacked him on his face.  
  
"Who goes there!?" the dozing knight yelled.  
  
The little moogle giggled and said to him, "You're friends already left."  
  
"Princess! Wait for me!" Steiner yelled, jumping to his feet.  
  
He met up with them, and they walked out on to a large field. They made their way quickly to the cavern they'd spotted on the map, and went inside.  
  
"This must be the cavern," Zidane said, looking around.  
  
"U-Um..." Vivi stuttered, stepping backwards.  
  
"It's okay Vivi," Ariana said to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here." Tuggle shivered on her shoulder as it took in the sight of the huge gaping cave before it.  
  
Zidane looked at her and said, "Well, why don't we go inside?"  
  
They trudged inside together. "Wooooooooooah," Ariana whispered. Sparkling ice glittered all around her. The cavern was filled with stalactites and stalagmites made of crystalline ice. The continued along a path in the cave, until they reached a strange wall.  
  
"Hmm...what's this?" Zidane asked himself aloud. "There's gotta be something behind it. Hey Vivi!"  
  
"Y-Yes?" Vivi replied.  
  
"Can you break down this wall with your magic?"  
  
"I..I can try," He stammered.  
  
Ariana, Garnet, Zidane, and Steiner watched as Vivi cast Fire and melted the frozen wall. A treasure chest lay on the ground behind where the wall used to be.  
  
"Good job Vivi!" Ariana patted him on the back.  
  
"We're counting on you," Zidane told him.  
  
"S-sure!" said the little mage.  
  
The group pressed forward, and when they turned into another room, Ariana saw a little moogle encased inside a large block of ice.  
  
"Huh? What's this?" Zidane said.  
  
Vivi used his Fire spell again to destroy the ice.  
  
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" The little moogle yelled, "You bastards!" Then it realized what had happened and said, "Oh, I can move again. Thanks, kupo!"  
  
They walked into another snow-covered area, but suddenly Vivi started wobbling around, then fell off of a 6-foot cliff. "Master Vivi!" Steiner yelled, and ran to see what happened but he tumbled off, too.  
  
Suddenly Garnet fell against Ariana, and knocked the both of them down. She felt Zidane tugging her arm, but she drifted off to sleep, Tuggle sighing sleepily on her shoulder, and the last thing she felt was Zidane's arm smacking her rib as he too fell over. 


	8. Chapter 8 The Black Waltz

Ariana jerked awake to a feeling of intense cold. More snow had fallen, and it had covered almost her entire body. She shakily stood and shook the loose snow off of her and peered around at her sleeping friends. Tuggle was buried under the snow, and only his tail was sticking up, enabling her to find him. "Oh, you poor thing!"she exclaimed, digging him out, and wrapping her arms around the shivering Mu. It burrowed into her, trying to get warm.  
  
She didn't want to disturb the Princess or Vivi, and she certainly didn't want to listen to Steiner's mumbo-jumbo, but she also didn't want to be awake by herself. She looked down at Zidane who was snoring rather loudly, and she kicked his boots.  
  
"Eh??" he said confused, sitting up. "What happened?"  
  
"I don't know, we all just fell asleep," Ariana said, offering him her hand to pull him up. Suddenly, she the heard the sound of a bell ringing close by. "Did you hear that?" she whispered.  
  
"Yeah, it's coming from over there. Come on!" He beckoned for her to follow him, and she tiptoed behind him as he lead her into an adjoining cavern.  
  
As soon as they entered, they heard a sinister voice say, "Why didn't you fall asleep? You should be dead by now..."  
  
Ariana looked everywhere, but couldn't find the speaker. "Where the hell are you?" she shouted.  
  
"Are you the one causing this blizzard?" Zidane asked.  
  
Suddenly a huge black mage, five times the size of Vivi, jumped and landed directly in front of them. Tuggle shrieked and crawled under Ariana's jacket, hiding itself.  
  
"Yes..hee hee!" The mage replied. It then moved into it's battle stance, and waited for them to make a move.  
  
"Oh great," Ariana sighed, "Another battle." She drew out her rusted blade, thinking how badly she needed a new weapon, and helped Zidane slash at the mage. The mage called some sort of weird monster out of nowhere. It was called a sealion by it's master. After they defeated the evil black waltz and it's familiar, they heard another hidden voice.  
  
"You've defeated number one, but number two and number three will reclaim the princess!"  
  
"W-Who's there? Oh, whatever...I've gotta go back and check on everyone. Come on, Ariana." Zidane said.  
  
They ran back to the other cavern, to see that everyone was waking up. Steiner was moving his arms about in some retarded way, and when he saw Zidane he yelled, "What happened?!"  
  
"Nothing, don't worry about it," Zidane said.  
  
"You didn't touch the princess did you?" Steiner blurted out.  
  
"Just what are you accusing him of!?" Ariana yelled at Steiner. "He said nothing happened, so shut up!"  
  
Garnet looked at the angry knight and to calm him she said, "Steiner, why are you being so rude?"  
  
Steiner just looked at her and said, "I only have your best interests at heart, Princess."  
  
"Well," Garnet said, looking around, "seems to me everyone is okay. Shall we move on?"  
  
"Yeah," Ariana replied.  
  
They walked on, and finally reached the exit to the Ice Cavern. In the distance, Ariana could see a small village.  
  
"Hey, I think I've been there before," Zidane said.  
  
"Sounds like you've been everywhere," said Princess Garnet. "Only places I've been, I've read about in books. Come on, let's go." She started to walk down the mountainous path, but Zidane told her to wait.  
  
"Maybe we should give you a new name, a disguise, so that no one will know you're the Princess."  
  
"How about Cornelia?" Ariana said, suggestively.  
  
The princess shook her head, and pull something out of Zidane's pants. "What is this called?" she asked.  
  
"Be careful Princess! That is a weapon!" Steiner said to her.  
  
"It's called a dagger. All blades this short are called that. The longer ones like Rusty's are called broadswords, and...." Zidane rambled.  
  
"Oh, okay, I understand. Well, from now on I want to be called Dagger," the princess said. "Is that okay with you, Zidane?"  
  
He looked at her, smiled, and said, "Yes."  
  
Ariana having witnessed this, sneered in disgust. "Oh God, now I have to deal with those two lovey doveys. And what the hell kind of name is Dagger, anyways?" she thought to herself.  
  
"Great, Dagger," Zidane was telling her, "now, let's work on your speech. Try to sound more casual. Like me."  
  
She looked at him as though she didn't understand and said, "I shall try."  
  
"No, no, no. Just say, 'alrighty'," he corrected her.  
  
"A-Alrighty."  
  
"Good," he nodded. "Well, let's go."  
  
"Finally!" Ariana muttered. 


	9. Chapter 9 Dali and the Windmill

Disclaimer: I don't own FF9, just Ariana!!!!!!! (geez, how many times do i hafta to say that?!)  
  
Author's Note: Since I'm not one to take flames too lightly, I'd like to reply to Nightmare's review: Okay, first of all, what the hell do you think fan fiction is?! To live out the writer's fantasy of how they wanted to story to go! So of course that's why I'm writing this, and for that I am not ashamed. hmph Oh, and Pikapoo8, I love you! Lol, so glad to have an Ariana/Zidane supporter...(especially a rabid one)..woohoo!!  
  
Zidane informed them that the name of the village ahead of them was Dali, and when they got there, they went straight to an inn to rest. The man at the inn's desk was asleep when they entered, so Zidane tapped him on his shoulder to wake him.  
  
"Sleeping on the job?" Zidane said to him.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorr...y.." said the innkeeper, warily.  
  
Zidane turned around and looked at Dagger, then back at the shopkeeper. "Hey, I know she's cute but that's no reason for you to stare."  
  
"Oh, I-I wasn't looking at the young lady. I was just... The room is right over there. Make yourselves at home." The innkeeper pointed them to a room off to the side, and they all walked in. She saw that there were only four beds, but there were five in their party. Someone was going to have to sleep on the floor.  
  
"Um, Zidane?" Dagger said, "Where do I sleep?"  
  
"Sorry babe, we don't get individual rooms here," Ariana said to her.  
  
"But, I musn't..."  
  
"Yes, you must," Ariana said, rolling her eyes. What a baby, she thought to herself.  
  
Vivi climbed onto one of the beds, and Dagger reluctantly sat on one of the other beds. Now only two beds remained. Steiner looked at Ariana and Zidane. Zidane looked at Ariana. Ariana looked at the bed beside her. Quick as a flash, Steiner jumped into one empty bed, and Ariana hopped onto the other.  
  
"Damn!" Zidane furrowed his brows, and cursed. "I guess I'm sleepin' on the floor then."  
  
"Hey, you can sleep with me in my bed," Ariana said playfully.  
  
He raised his eyebrows and looked at her. "Really?" he asked, hopeful.  
  
She snorted and threw a pillow at him. "In your dreams, loverboy." She then rolled over in the bed, and quickly fell into a blissful world of dreams.  
  
When she awoke the next morning, no one else was in the room with her, and somebody was singing. Desperate to get the melody out of her head, she straightened herself up and left the inn. Outside there were little children laughing and running around. Ariana spotted Zidane and Garnet searching the ground over by a windmill.  
  
She walked over to them and casually asked, "Hey, watcha looking for?"  
  
"Vivi. He was here a little while ago, and now we can't find him," Zidane replied.  
  
"Oh." Ariana was watching Dagger and Zidane, when she heard a "kweh" noise.  
  
Dagger then said, "Woah! I heard a chocobo."  
  
"Sniff. Sniff."  
  
"Did you hear that? Sounds like someone is crying!" Ariana exclaimed.  
  
"Sniff. Sniff."  
  
"Vivi!" Zidane declared, loudly.  
  
"Zidane?!" They could hear little Vivi's muffled sobs beneath them now.  
  
Ariana saw the building that seemed to be running the windmill, and she waved over to Zidane and Dagger to follow her inside. Once inside, they looked around for a means to get underground.  
  
"Well isn't that obvious," Zidane said, pointing to a hatch. Ariana pulled the door open, and descended down a long ladder. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary until they ran into the second room. A large yellow bird sat in cage next to a small hut.  
  
"A chocobo?" Ariana asked.  
  
"Yes," Dagger said, nodding.  
  
"This doesn't seem to be just any old underground storage facility," Zidane said uneasily.  
  
"Shhh!!" Ariana hissed, silencing them. She had heard a conversation going on in the next room, and was eavesdropping on it. They had been talking about the mayor's brother, and something he'd found. Then she, Zidane, and Dagger watched as a young man stuffed Vivi into a box, then left the room talking about taking Vivi to the castle.  
  
Dagger glanced at one of the barrels lying on the floor, and suddenly looked scared.  
  
"What is it?!" Zidane asked her.  
  
"Did you see the large barrel next to the shed? I've seen the exact same pattern on some of the barrels in my castle! Dali must have some connection with Alexandria Castle, and I have to find out what it is!" she exclaimed, eyes wide.  
  
"Okay, but if Vivi is in danger, then I'll start trouble," Zidane said. "Agreed?"  
  
"Yes," Dagger replied.  
  
Ariana followed them into a few more rooms, when they heard some sort of machine-like noises. She could hear sobbing coming from another of the boxes lying on the floor, and whispered, "Vivi!?"  
  
"Awaiana!"  
  
"Oh, you poor thing. Just stay right there, I'll get you out," she said, sympathetically. She pried the lid off the barrel he was in, and pulled him out by his arms.  
  
"It's not like I was goin' anywhere anyways," he said sheepishly. Ariana laughed, and hugged him to her. "Why would those stupid bastards put you in a barrel?!"  
  
"How could they...?" Dagger said to herself, trailing off.  
  
"After you left, Zidane some men took me and brought me down here. I was so scared... I didn't know what to do! They asked me 'Why were you outside?' and then they said, 'The cargo ship isn't even here yet.' I didn't know what they were talking about, so I didn't say anything, and then they said, 'Let's put it in today's shipment', then that's when you all came down here and found me," Vivi said, wiping tears from his eyes.  
  
"Oh! That's awful! If I ever meet one of them in a dark alley, they'd better run!," Ariana said, shaking her head. Tuggle tittered in agreeance. Poor Vivi.... She then vowed silently to herself that she would never leave his side. Ariana would be his protectress, and whether Vivi liked it or not, she would always be there for him.  
  
"Well next time it happens, Vivi, you should fight back. Scream out loud, or say something like 'Get off me you scumbag!'," Zidane suggested.  
  
Ariana laughed. "Do you still want to come with us now, Vivi?"  
  
"Yes, I wanna know more about what these people are doing." He looked away for a second, and said, "Hey, what's that?" He was pointing to the machine in the room.  
  
"It looks like it's making eggs!" Dagger said.  
  
Zidane ran into the next room and said, "Look! It's being run by a chocobo!" Ariana followed him, but then she looked up, and saw many black mages, taller and larger than Vivi, attached to an upper conveyor belt, being carried around likes ties on a tie rack.  
  
Ariana put her hand over Vivi's eyes, but it was too late. He had seen them. "A-Are they real?" he asked.  
  
"Quick! Hide! I think I hear someone coming!" Zidane yelled to them. Ariana grabbed Vivi's hand and they hid behind a large box. "No!" Zidane yelled, waving towards them. "Through here!" She took Vivi's hand again, and ran into the small tunnel with Dagger and Zidane. They heard workers moving around the room as they hid. Suddenly, three of the mages they had seen the machine making dropped down in front of them.  
  
"Aaaah!!!" Ariana screamed, she squeezed Zidane's tail and Vivi hid his face under her jacket, where Tuggle hid, shivering. 


	10. Chapter 10 Conversations in a Barrel

Disclaimer: Um...lemme check. Nope. I still don't own FF9, just my very own sweet character, Ariana! ^_^  
  
Author's Note: Thanks for all the good reviews! This chapter is for Sparks, my longtime reviewer, who has stuck with me throughout the entire story so far. Thank you ;)  
  
Before the mages could speak, Dagger got the bright idea to hide inside some empty barrels. Ariana, Tuggle, and Zidane got into one barrel, much to Vivi's dismay. He on the other hand, got stuck in a barrel with Dagger.  
  
Inside her barrel, Ariana couldn't help but take advantage of the situation she was in. She just HAD to tell Zidane what she'd been thinking. "Hey Zidane?"  
  
"Yeah," he replied.  
  
"I've been thinking a lot lately....about you."  
  
"Oh....really?"  
  
"Uh huh, and you know what, Zidane?"  
  
"What?" His breathing was becoming ragged and heavy. Tuggle chattered loudly now, as if he was jealous.  
  
"I really wish you would put on some deoderant," Ariana said. She burst out in laughter, and Zidane went silent. Tuttle sniggered. "Hey, come on," she elbowed him in his rib, "I'm only kidding."  
  
Zidane then whispered, "Shh! They'll hear you!" She could tell he was eager to get back at her, and the only way he could was to tell her to be quiet.  
  
She waited in silence for about two minutes, when she felt the barrel being tipped over, and rolled out of the room. Ariana and Zidane took turns accidentally kneeing or smacking each other in an attempt not to hit one another as they rolled. Tuggle shrieked loudly, and scratched Ariana's arm three times. Finally the barrel stopped, and they heard footsteps walking away.  
  
"Whew!" Ariana let out a deep sigh, rubbing her arm and regaining her balance. She saw stars when she closed her eyes, so she opened them and shook her head. "You okay, Zidane?" Tuggle was clinging to her hair now, rattled and shivering from the bumpy ride. She tried to pull him out, but he was reluctant and wouldn't let go of her hair, so she let him stay.  
  
"Yeah, I guess." He huffed, obviously still fuming about what she'd said earlier.  
  
"Zidane, I already told you I was just kidding about what I said. Geez, you don't have to be pissed." She tried to cross her arms over her chest, but she couldn't so she gave up, frustrated.  
  
She could feel him beside her as he tried to turn around to face her. It took him a minute or two, but he managed it. "Why do you tease me so much?" he suddenly asked her.  
  
Although it was completely dark inside the barrel, she could feel him looking at her. "I'm only kidding with you. You shouldn't take me so seriously."  
  
"Yeah, but still, I'm only a guy, and we guys take things like that seriously." Once again, he fell silent, but then he said, "Oh, and that really hurt earlier when you squeezed my tail."  
  
Ariana grinned at hearing that and said, "Sorry, I won't do it again."  
  
"What, squeeze my tail, or tease me?" he asked.  
  
"Neither," she replied.  
  
He laughed and said okay. Once again everything was quiet. "Should we get out?" he asked her.  
  
"No, not yet, I keep hearing footsteps," she lied. There were no footsteps, she just wanted to enjoy a few more minutes in the barrel with Zidane.  
  
Ariana put her arms down to her side, and let her hand slide along the bottom of the barrel. After only a few seconds, she found what she had been looking for. With her pointer and middle fingers, she "crawled" up Zidane's tail, and it twitched in reply.  
  
"Hey, that tickles," he said.  
  
She laughed quietly, and picked his tail up in her hands. "I wish I had a tail."  
  
"No you don't," he replied, "It gets in the way."  
  
Ariana felt something on her other hand, and realized that it was his fingers. He stroked her hand, and in reply she lifted it up, and their fingers locked together. She smiled, and they both leaned towards each other, heads tilted.  
  
Suddenly, somebody knocked on the barrel three times. Vivi's small voice said, "Zidane? Awaiana? Are you in there?"  
  
"Damn," Zidane muttered. "Yeah! Is the coast clear?"  
  
Author's 2nd note: This chapter was SOOO much fun to write. I was listening to Final Fantasy 9 music, and I just had this inspiration. I hope to see good reviews! (hint hint!!) ;) 


	11. Chapter 11 The Cargo Ship

Disclaimer: Hiya! I don't own FF9, just Ariana.  
  
Author's Note: Have fun reading this chappy. ---doh, wussa chappy!?!  
  
Blinking in the sunlight, Ariana stepped out of the barrel and put out a hand for Zidane who grabbed it and also pulled himself out. Dagger had her hands on her hips and was glaring at Zidane.  
  
He put his hands in the air and exclaimed, "What?!"  
  
She shook her head, and started walking towards a huge airship that was parked outside of Dali. "Wonder what's wrong with Dagger," Vivi said to Ariana, watching the princess sulk away.  
  
"I don't know, Viv," Zidane said, and started walking after the princess. Ariana started to glare at him, but then thought better of it, and instead she got on her knees and handed Tuggle to Vivi.  
  
Then she whispered something in his ear, and when she was finished, Vivi nodded, and waddled over to where Dagger and Zidane were apparently arguing. Ariana looked at Steiner now, who was pacing around in a circle. "What's up with you?" she asked him.  
  
He stopped pacing and glanced over at her. "Hush, woman! I'm trying to concentrate," he said.  
  
"Don't call me woman. My name is Ariana, and if you really don't wanna call me that, then at least call me Ari. Just never, EVER call me woman. Understand me, you sexist fiend?" she fumed.  
  
Steiner was cringing, staring at her in bewilderment. "Yes..."  
  
Right on cue, Ariana looked over to see Dagger jumping up and down screaming. Steiner immediately got up and ran over to her. "Your majesty! What's wrong?"  
  
"There's something in my pants! I think it's an oglop!" She shrieked, and hopped around some more. Ariana looked at Vivi, and Vivi returned her look. They both started giggling, and finally Tuggle leaped from Dagger's pants and bounded over to Ariana, jumping into her arms.  
  
"Okay then! Heh. So where is this ship heading?" Ariana asked Steiner, still snickering.  
  
"To, uh, L-Lindblum. Yes, it's going to Lindblum," he replied, his voice shaky.  
  
She nodded. "Well that's convenient. Did you ask some one?"  
  
"Yes," he said. "The old man in the shack on Observatory Mountain told me."  
  
"I see," Ariana said.  
  
Suddenly Ariana was caught off guard as another one of the Black Waltz's, like the one she'd met in the ice cavern, zipped around in front of her, and was moving about erratically. It turned to Dagger and said, "Princess Garnet, the castle awaits you."  
  
"You were all sent by Brahne?" Ariana asked it.  
  
"What? What are you talking about," Steiner said, looking dumbfounded. (in other words looking normal - hehe)  
  
"You were all unconscious from the blizzard. He said he was a Black Waltz!" Zidane said.  
  
Then the second Waltz spoke in an eerie, rasping voice, "Are you the one who defeated Number 1? I am Black Waltz Number 2! My power, magic, and speed make me far superior to Number 1! Resistance is futile! If you don't come now, Princess, you will regret it."  
  
Dagger then stamped her foot and responded, "I will not return to the castle!"  
  
Steiner said something stupid as always, and the Waltz got very mad. A battled then ensued, but the Waltz refused to injure the princess in any way, and this really made Ariana mad, so she put double force in her attacks. After they finally defeated it, the Waltz coughed out it's last words (W-why) and finally fell over in a pitiful heap.  
  
"Did my mother really send them to capture me?" Dagger said, half talking to herself.  
  
"Yep!" Ariana almost said, grinning. However, she caught herself in time to say, "Did I almost say that out LOUD?"  
  
Steiner was doubled over, recovering from the fight, and managed to stammer out, "Princess, it was just some evil bandit trying to use you in it's latest scheme. Nothing to worry about I'm sure."  
  
"Um, Steiner?" Ariana said, poking him.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"IT JUST TRIED TO KILL US!!" she shrieked, "SO WE HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT?!"  
  
"Not with me, Steiner, the Captain of the Pluto Knights, around," he said, beaming with pride, one eyebrow raised.  
  
Ariana shook her head, and looked down. "Riiiiiiiight, well we'll see."  
  
Zidane walked over to them again, and said, "Well, if this ship's going to Lindblum then we'd better hitch a ride. Everyone wait here while I go ask if we can ride with them."  
  
"Wait!" Steiner shouted. "I'll do it. I am only doing this for the Princess's benefit, so I'll go ask for a ride, not you."  
  
Dagger then said, "Steiner... He was so adamant about going back to the castle before...An airship full of barrels like the ones I saw at the castle... Steiner was against going...Zidane, is this ship really headed for Lindblum?"  
  
"No, it'll probably take us straight to Alexandria," he replied. "Just trust me though."  
  
"If you say so, Zidane," Dagger said.  
  
Ariana sat on the cool grass to wait for Steiner, and as she sat, Vivi came over to sit beside her. "Awaiana?" he said, quizzically.  
  
"Yes, Viv."  
  
"Those dolls they were making underground...Do you think they looked like me?" he asked, his head hanging.  
  
"No! Of course not, Vivi. They looked completely different. You're so much cuter, and they're clothes were weirder," Ariana replied, trying her best to comfort him. She put her arm around him, and said, "The ships moving! I wonder what Steiner's up to."  
  
Zidane then said, "Alright, come on you guys. We have to get on the airship."  
  
Ariana nodded and stood up, Tuggle sitting on her shoulder, and she grabbed Vivi's gloved hand, helping to pull him up from his sitting position. Together, the four of them walked over to the waiting cargo ship. A ladder was hanging off the side of the ship, and Vivi was the first one to climb on.  
  
"Hurry!" Zidane shouted, "It's lifting off." Then Dagger climbed on to the rope, followed by Zidane. Ariana looked up to see him grab the princess's butt, and say "Ooh, soft." She was angry now, and reached up to pull Zidane's tail.  
  
"Ow!!" He yelled and glared down at her, "Why'd you do that for!?"  
  
"Sorry," she said innocently, "I thought it was part of the ladder." He looked away and she made faces behind his back as she climbed the rest of the way. She was still making twisted faces, until she realized Zidane had turned around to look at her. Then she made her face completely blank and began humming as if nothing ever happened. Tuggle tittered on her shoulder all the while. 


	12. Chapter 12 Black Waltz 3

Disclaimer: FF9 is not mine, just Ariana. Thank you, come again.  
  
Ariana walked around the airship's deck for a while, enjoying the cool breeze. She thought about Zidane, and how confused he made her. She felt jealous because she wasn't of high royalty like the princess, and that Zidane was more likely to love Dagger anyday over her. Ariana's mind flowed with these thoughts, and she stopped when she came across Vivi, Dagger, and Zidane talking.  
  
"Come on, it's not like I did it on purpose," she heard Zidane say.  
  
"Please, enough," came Dagger's voice in reply.  
  
"There's that royal tone in your voice again," Zidane said. Ariana saw him to turn to the young mage and ask, "...Are you okay, Vivi?"  
  
"Feels like I'm going to get sucked into the sky," Vivi's mesmerized voice replied.  
  
"Let's go inside, Vivi," Dagger beckoned. Ariana watched as Dagger and Vivi went indoors, and she heard the princess say, "I trust you, Zidane."  
  
Ariana was just about to speak when she heard Zidane talking to himself. "I get the feeling she doesn't quite trust me yet. Maybe she'll reward me with a kiss or two if I try hard enough."  
  
"Hmph!" Ariana sighed loudly. Zidane spun around, and had a bewildered look in his eyes. His expression then changed to an I-wonder-if-she-heard- that kind of expression. Ariana turned on her heels, crossed her arms over her chest, and trooped quickly to the other end of the ship. When she glanced over her shoulder to see if he was following her, she noticed that the ship was being turned, and Zidane was nowhere to be found. "Hmph!" she repeated to herself. Tuggle mimicked her, with his own cute little high- pitched "Hmph!"  
  
Suddenly Ariana heard blasts of lightning, and ran to the front of the ship. To her horror, she saw an even larger Waltz than the previous two throwing bolts of hot light at dozens of smaller black mages. Quickly she ran to where Dagger was trying to comfort Vivi, who seemed to be struck with both terror and sorrow.  
  
She looked at the cruel Waltz who was now firing lightning bolts left and right. Black Mages were being hit and killed. A bunch of them went flying off the airship. Barrels of Black Mages were thrown off, exploding in mid- air, as pieces of wood flew about. Ariana, Zidane, Dagger, Vivi and Steiner then looked forward at the villainous Black Waltz No. 3, whose arms were crossed and eyes glowed red.  
  
"W-what cruelty!" Steiner yelled, in awe.  
  
Then Vivi quickly stood, and in a furious rush of adrenaline-based rage, ran with all his might toward the evil Waltz.  
  
"I shall assist you!" Steiner bellowed, following the infuriated little mage.  
  
"Hey, you guys!" Zidane yelled after them. Ariana looked at him, and thinking of Vivi, ran off to fight with Steiner and Vivi, Tuggle in tow.  
  
"Dagger," Zidane said.  
  
"Y-Yes?" she stammered.  
  
"We'll take care of the Black Waltz. You steer the ship. Things are gonna get even more dangerous from here on. It's not too late to turn back. You can go back to the castle or cross South Gate into Lindblum. It's your choice!" Zidane said, giving her the choices.  
  
Dagger nodded.  
  
"I'll be with you either way! But try not to crash the ship!"  
  
She nodded again, turned to leave, and yelled, "Be careful!"  
  
Zidane quickly said, "I'll be fine, now go!"  
  
He hurried to where the rest of his friends were now facing Black Waltz No. 3.  
  
"How could you do that?" Vivi was asking it, "Aren't they you're friends?"  
  
"You fool. Do I look like a lowly Black Mage soldier? Kwahahaha! Worry not about them: many more are being produced even now!" It snapped, in a sinister voice.  
  
"What are you?" Zidane asked the frightening winged creature.  
  
"It wouldn't do you any good if I answered, since you're all going to die! Kwahahaha! I will eliminate any who stand in my way!" It replied.  
  
Immediately it began casting spells on them. Ariana slashed at it with her blade, while Vivi cast spells, Zidane stabbed it, and Steiner cut the Waltz. After many rounds of frenzied attacks, the Waltz fell, defeated, to it's hands and knees.  
  
"Y-you scum! I exist only to kill," the Waltz choked out. It then drew up whatever strength it had left, and flew away.  
  
"How many more of those do we have to fight?" Ariana panted, doubled over in exhaustion. "This is becoming ridiculous!" Inside though, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the pathetic beast. It lived only to kill. Somewhere, some evil person was making these mages whose only purpose in life was to carry out the malevolent deeds of its creator.  
  
"I think that was the last one," Zidane replied.  
  
Steiner looked at him accusingly and said, "How do you know?! Are you..."  
  
Zidane shook his head and said, "He said he's Waltz No. 3 right? Don't you think that he would be the last one then?" Zidane looked around and said, "I can see South Gate! She's going for it!"  
  
Zidane walked back to the bridge, and Ariana looked over to see Vivi looking at one of the Black Mage's hats, sitting on the edge of the airship. She walked over to him, and put her arm around him. "I'm sorry Vivi," she said, in an effort to comfort him. Tuggle crawled from its hiding place in her jacket, and nudged at Vivi's hand, sensing the mage's sadness. The little mage leaned against Ariana's shoulder, and shook with silent sobs. 


	13. Chapter 13 Lindblum and Strange Dreams

Disclaimer: Me no own FF9. Me own Ariana. :)  
  
Author's Note: Okay, I'm back! I took a short vacation from ff.net, but I'm back and ready to update frequently. I started school August 7, so I've been busy. I've also, unfortunately been sick..I don't understand what I'm going through. I can't eat because I have no appetite....yet, I get hungry and when I try to eat, I'll get halfway through something and start feeling like I'm going to gag. I hope I'm not mentally ill. (that's nothing to laugh about) I think I've lost about 5 pounds in the past week, and this isn't normal. Does anyone understand this?! I don't.....  
  
This "sickness" has also given me a chance to allow for some extremely constructive reviews, that I'm sincerely thankful for. Please give me this opportunity to privately acknowledge the people that have spent the time to read my story, and to review it. To someone who's goal in life is to become a writer, this is something that really helps out and is a constant inspiration. Thank you so much. Now, after a long, boring, introduction we can begin the rest of my story!  
  
Another Quick Note: I'm skipping through the rest of the black mage fight..I know!! I'm sorry! I just can't find the words to write this scene. This chapter starts off in Lindblum after the South Gate is destroyed, and they are parking their airship in Lindblum's harbor. - - - - - - When the airship was docked, they disembarked from the airship. Ariana, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger, and Zidane climbed down a ladder onto a plush, crimson carpet. A couple of soldiers began heading towards the group, and when they reached them, they questioned Dagger as to who everyone was, and their reason for being here. Soon Minister Artania was summoned, and Dagger greeted him as her Uncle. However, he seemed to be in a serious mood, and led them further into the Lindblum Grand Castle.  
  
Ariana's thoughts turned to a more personal matter as she walked down the dark hallways of the castle. She wondered what mom and Matt were doing, or if they had even noticed her absence. Matt would be at camp right now playing basketball, or hiking with his friends. Mom was probably at home, drinking coffee and watching the news, the smell of her perfume lingering in the air. Her stomach suddenly ached, and she knew it was because she missed them. How was she ever going to get out of here? An unexpected tear fell from the corner of her eye, but she quickly wiped it away.  
  
She thought of Vivi, and everything they had seen on the airship and in Dali. The little mage seemed to be upset, but didn't want to let his troubles interfere with the rest of the mission. Ariana felt torn between wanting to stay and protect Vivi, and wanting to be at home with her mom. Then her mind stopped wandering, and her eyes came back into focus. They were now being led into an elevator-like contraption. The six of them squeezed inside of it, and she looked over through Steiners arm, to see Zidane stuck between Dagger and the minister. She also came to realize the look of satisfaction on his face, and how close his body was to the Princess's. Zidane looked up and saw that Ariana had been watching him, and he quickly wiped the happy look off his face, and replaced it with a bored expression.  
  
Ariana fought the urge to cry again, but she held her head up. Vivi was standing beside her so she put her hand on his shoulder and he reached up to hold it. Finally, the elevator stopped and the doors opened to a room with a few guards and other people bustling around. The carpet was red, as all the others in the castle were. She still held on to Vivi's gloved hand, as the group followed Artania into a room with a large rectangular table and a massive, empty throne. She looked closer at the throne, and jumped when she noticed that it wasn't empty at all. In fact, a small oglop sat there watching them enter the room. It looked suspiciously like a picture of the Regent she had noticed when walking down the hall. It even had a little white mustache. The most shocking surprise came to her however, when the oglop opened it's mouth, and with a very humane voice said, "Welcome, Princess Garnet and friends. Please sit down, we have much to talk about."  
  
Vivi pulled out a magnificently carved wooden chair for her at the large table, and she sat down beside him. Zidane sat alongside Dagger and Steiner on the opposite side of the table. The Minister then bowed to the oplop, and shut the doors behind him as he left.  
  
"I remember that mustache. Uncle Cid, is it really you?" Dagger inquired of the bug.  
  
"Yes. Greetings, all gwok. I am Cid Fabool, Regent of Lindblum. I knew it was you - I recognized your pendant's description; it's so much like my Falcon Claw. I'm delighted to see you again, Garnet. You have truly gwok become a fine lady. I, on the other hand..." the Regent said.  
  
"Why do you look like an oglop?" Steiner asked him, a repulsive look on his face.  
  
"Allow me to explain," Cid replied, "About six months ago, someone snuck into the castle and attacked me as I was sleeping. The guards, gwokbless them, were too late. I was transformed in to this....body, and my wife, Lady Hildagwok, was abducted." He lowered his head, waiting for them to say something.  
  
"My goodness," said the princess, shaking her head.  
  
Ariana began to get bored, and twitched in her seat. Where am I? she thought. Why am I here? Her eyes were getting heavy, and she felt herself become sleepy. She drooped down into her seat, and drifted off to a weak snooze.  
  
Ariana awoke to find herself drifting slowly along a dark, silent river. She was in a small wooden boat, alone. Nobody was steering the boat, yet it seemed to have a certain path to follow. The sky was black, and the moon cast a silvery glow on the water. Suddenly, the little boat hit something, and she put her hand over the side, to find that she was not in water any more. Her finger scraped against dry earth and grass. Wearily, she stood and stepped out of the boat onto solid ground. Ariana felt weak, and tumbled over, but she did not hit the ground. Instead a pair of arms caught her, and she looked up to see a swirling mass of feathery silver and purple hair, hiding her savior's face. Her eyes fluttered shut again, and she slowly lost consciousness. 


	14. Chapter 14 The City of Lindblum

Chapter 15  
  
Disclaimer: FF9 is not mine.  
  
Author's Note: Enjoy!  
  
When Ariana woke up again, she was lying in a small bed. Her eyes came into focus, and she looked around her. Nobody was in the room with her except for Tuggle, and she felt desperately alone. "What a strange dream...." she whispered to herself. Tuggle's eyes flickered open, and sat up yawning.  
  
A wave of heat went through Ariana's body as she sat up. Her stomache growled with hunger. She hadn't had a decent meal since she'd been home. On Earth, away from talking oglops, annoying monkey-tailed thieves, princesses, mages, and stupid, blabbering, overprotective knights.  
  
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. Her knees suddenly buckled, causing her to fall to her knees. She finally gave in to the urge to cry, and the tears streamed down her face. Ariana sat like that for a long time, sobbing silently to herself. Finally, she wiped away her tears and stood up. She heard a knock at the door, and a maid came into the room with silver platter full of delicious looking food. Her stomache growled again as she thanked the maid, and ate until she could eat no more.  
  
Now, Ariana felt stronger, and attempted to walk around. She found a few chests with items she thought might be useful for her mission, if that's what it was called. Then she walked down a set of stairs, and left the room. After walking through the Lindblum Grand Castle halls for half an hour looking at pictures and marble statues, she decided to enter the city to do some exploring. Nobody stopped her when she left the castle, so she concluded that she wouldn't be missed.  
  
The sky outside was bright blue, a beautiful day for looking around a city. Tuggle sat atop her shoulder as usual, sniffing the strange scents of the city of Lindblum. People were walking all around her, talking to friends and family, or bargaining for an item or two. She'd never seen such a variety of humans and creatures. She smiled, watching little kids running around chasing their pets, balloons in hand. Giant memorial statues were everywhere, and shops lined the streets. The thought of staying here almost made her forget about Earth, but then she remembered the warmth of being at home. She sadly shook her head, but was interrupted when one of the children running around came up to her and tugged on her shorts.  
  
"Hewwo! I've never seen you before, where do you come from?" The little boy asked her, his eyes sparkling blue.  
  
She smiled at him, and got down on one knee to speak face to face with him. "I'm from a place called Earth. Have you ever heard of it?"  
  
He looked confused, but then grinned at her. "Nope, but, I think you're very pwetty. Here you go!" He shoved his balloon into her hand, and skipped off.  
  
Ariana laughed, and stood back up. She tied the balloon to her wrist, and started to walk again. She watched as a bent old woman tried to sell putrid-smelling pickles. (Gysahl pickles!! Get your gysahl pickles cheap!) She went over to examine them, and reached into her pockets. The emptiness there suddenly reminded her that she had no money, whatsoever. Not even an American penny! Ariana thought about going back to castle to find some, but she decided to look for Zidane, to see if he had any.  
  
She turned away from the pickle cart and headed toward some shops. A weaponry shop's door was open, inviting her in to see the vast display of newly crafted blades and rods. She looked inside to see if she could spot anyone she knew, but saw no one. Ariana kept walking, glancing in door shops, looking for a sign of anyone. Finally, exhausted she decided to stop at a bar for some rest.  
  
The bell on the door clanged as she went inside. She quickly found an empty seat at the bar, and when the waitress asked her what she wanted, she simply replied, "Water, please." Ariana scanned the customer's of the bar, and spotted a red mage, a few normal-looking humans, and a strangely pretty rat-like girl. She even had a tail, but Ariana couldn't see much of her face because it was hidden beneath some sort of hat. Finally, her water arrived, and she drank it heartily, a few dribbles of it slipping down her chin, and when she was finished she slammed it down on the bar. Ariana felt bad knowing she had no money to tip the waitress with, but she got up to leave anyways.  
  
Halfway way to the exit, she looked up to see Zidane push the door of the bar open and walk in as if he owned the place. He saw her standing there and exclaimed, "Oh! Hey Ari. Feelin' better?"  
  
"Yeah, what happened?" she asked him, as they walked back to the bar together. She sat beside him, and he ordered some type of drink she'd never heard of.  
  
He got his order and focused his attention on her again. "You just sort of got knocked out. We tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't budge, so we put you upstairs to sleep. We were really worried about you." Then he hesitated a moment before he added, "Especially Dagger."  
  
Ariana rolled her eyes and muttered, "Yeah right."  
  
Zidane shook his head and said, "No, we really were." He sipped at his drink, and continued. "Vivi was really scared that you were sick, and stayed in there with you for hours. Dagger finally had to go up there and carry him out, 'cause he'd fallen asleep on the floor."  
  
Ariana smiled to herself, at the thought of the little mage she'd befriended worrying so much about her. It was quite a change compared to the way other people in this world acted around her. She looked up to see Zidane had turned away from her and was talking to the mousy-looking girl. Ariana stood up, and walked over to stand in front of them.  
  
"Do you know her, Zidane?" Ariana asked him.  
  
He looked up at her, noticing her presence and responded, "Yeah! Haven't seen her in years. An old friend of mine from Burmecia."  
  
"Name's Freya," the woman said, holding out a furry hand for Ariana to shake. Ariana held hers out also, and they shook. "And who are you, if I may ask?" she inquired.  
  
"I'm Ariana, also a friend of Zidane's. Let's just say I'm not from around here. What brings you to Lindblum?" Ariana asked her.  
  
"Festival of the Hunt," she replied, taking a sip of her soup.  
  
Ariana looked at Zidane, confused. "What's that?"  
  
"It's a festival where they let out a bunch of creatures all over Lindblum, and the person who kills the most wins the prize of their choice. I did it one year before, but I came in 7th." He answered, cringing at saying "7th".  
  
"Ouch," Ariana giggled, "Seventh? You?! Well, that sounds like something I'd want to participate in. Are you going to try again this year, Zidane?"  
  
He looked bothered, but said, "Yeah, I guess." He tried not to look at her, as he drank from his glass. "So, Freya," he said, trying to change the subject, "are you ever going back to Burmecia?"  
  
"I have no reason to go back," she responded, "There's nothing there for me anymore." Ariana sensed a quiet sadness about Freya, but couldn't quite figure it out. She guessed that the mere mention of Freya's home, of Burmecia, was the reason for the sadness, so she didn't want to ask her about it.  
  
They talked for a while longer about the festival, and other things. Ariana watched Zidane and Freya catch up on old times, and any new developments in one another's lives. Finally, Zidane stood up, stretched, and yawned. Then, she noticed that they'd been talking all day and that the sky had turned dark.  
  
"Come on, Ariana, let's go find somewhere to crash." He waved goodbye to Freya, and began walking out of the bar.  
  
Ariana also waved to her, but Freya stopped her, and whispered something in her ear. "Don't let him play with your heart, Ariana. He's a good guy, lot's of fun, but I wouldn't trust him with my heart if I were you. I don't mean to be rude, but you're a beautiful girl, and I'm just trying to be helpful. You know?" Ariana nodded to her, smiled, and wished her good luck in the Festival of the Hunt. Then she walked out of the bar, and met Zidane outside.  
  
The sky was a dark blue color, and the streets had emptied of the many people she'd seen earlier. He reached for her arm in the darkness, and grabbed her hand. They walked together toward an inn at the corner of the street. Zidane checked with the innkeeper, and they went up a set of stairs. They reached a hall full of rooms, and entered a door that lead to a room with four beds. One was occupied by Vivi, who was sound asleep.  
  
She walked over to the bed beside Vivi's, slipped off her shoes, and climbed beneath the sheets. She heard Zidane crawling under the covers of a bed on the opposite side of the room. Ariana sat awake for hours listening to the sounds of her own breathing, thinking about what Freya had said. Ariana wasn't a fool. Zidane wasn't going to mess with her heart, and she would do everything she could to keep him from hurting her. Once again, her mind drifted the person in her dream. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought of the arms that had caught before she'd fallen. Ariana drifted off to sleep thinking of the silvery hair in her dream, wondering if she would ever find out who it was, or if he was even real.  
  
~~~~~Ariana found herself searching through the halls of some sort of castle or mansion. Pictures were everywhere, framed in gold, yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out the faces in any of them, but they all had long feathery hair. Finally, she ran into a dead end, but when she turned around, she wasn't in a darkened hallway anymore. Lights filled a brilliantly decorated ballroom, and when she looked down at herself, she wasn't wearing a shirt or shorts anymore. Ariana was now wearing a long, black and red dress that reached her ankles, and she was standing atop a marble staircase that led down to the ballroom floor. Placing her gloved hand delicately on the guardrail, she walked down the stairs and when she reached the bottom, a tall man stood waiting for her. She still couldn't make out his face, but his hair was long and silky. The silvery purpleness was so familiar to her, and as he stretched out his hand for her to take, she was magnetically drawn to him. Music filled her ears as he led her out to onto the floor. Ariana closed her eyes, placed her head on his chest, and they danced. As he twirled her about, she threw her head back and laughed, enjoying herself immensely. She couldn't remember when the last time she had felt so happy was. When she thought she could dance no more, she open her eyes again, and was alone. No tall man, no ballroom. Nothing. Just pitch blackness.~~~~~  
  
And then she woke up. 


	15. Chapter 15 Tidings from Burmecia

Chapter 15  
  
Disclaimer: Yes, everyone knows as well as I do, that I do not own FF9. Just Ariana.  
  
Author's Note - PLEASE throw apples and tomatoes at my head. I deserve it for being lazy. I'm the worst procrastinator in the world..but here it is, after like a year of no updates - ladies and gentleman: chapter 15.  
  
Ariana sat up, panting, and Tuggle looked at her with a worried expression in it's beady black eyes. "Mew?" It offered, in a weirdly human way of comforting her. She patted it on the head, and laid back down. Why was she having such strange dreams? Who was that person that she felt so strangely attracted to. Everytime she thought of him her heart beat so quickly in her ribcage that she almost couldn't breathe. It was as if he was hers, and hers alone, and she wanted so badly to finally meet him, to touch him, to hold him in her arms as he had held her. Ariana's thoughts were interrupted as glanced across the room and saw Zidane sitting up in his bed, staring strangely at her.  
  
"What?" she said to him, trying her best to act naturally.  
  
He watched her for another silent moment before he answered. "Are you aware of the fact that you laugh in your sleep?"  
  
She felt her face turn beet red, and reached down to pet Tuggle, shrugging it off. "Well, I guess I am now. Did I wake you up or something?"  
  
"No," he responded, cautiously. "I've been awake since daybreak, just thinking about things." His voice drifted off as he looked out the window. Ariana heard birds chirping happily and the hustle and bustle of Lindblum's citizens doing their morning chores. The sunlight shown merrily through the sheer curtains, and she got up to open them, letting the morning light flood the inn room. She glanced over to her side to see Vivi waking up, stretching and yawning. The refreshed mage sat up, and looked around at Zidane and Ariana, blinking in the sunlight and smiling.  
  
"Good morning, guys," he muttered, sleepily.  
  
"Morning, Viv," they answered in unison. Zidane glanced at Ariana and smiled to himself.  
  
Ariana caught the hidden smile and wondered what he was grinning about. She couldn't help but feel attracted to Zidane as well as the strange man in her dreams. Both were out of her reach, yet, though Zidane were more tangible, she didn't want to be another one of his conquests. She was determinded to follow Freya's advice, and not let him get to her heart.  
  
With this in mind, she decided to ask about Lindblum, since she'd never been there before. "What type of place is this?"  
  
Zidane answered her, "Well, People come here from all over the world. Some of them come here to become airship engineers, sculptors, actors..."  
  
"Wow!" Vivi exclaimed, engulfed in what Zidane had to say about Lindblum.  
  
Zidane nodded and continued, "Yea, I really don't remember why I came here for my first time, but sure enough I did, and I ended up working for Tantalus. That's where I'm heading right now as soon as I leave here. It's in the theatre district. Anybody wanna come with me?"  
  
He looked at Ariana with hope at his last question, but seeing this, she shook her head and replied, "No, I think I'll walk around by myself for awhile." She saw that Vivi was torn between not wanting to leave her alone, but really wanting to see the Tantalus hideout, so she added, "Vivi, you run along with Zidane. I'd like to have a little time to myself to think about things."  
  
Vivi covered up a sigh of relief, but asked her, "Are you sure, Awai?"  
  
"Yes, Viv, now you guys go ahead and run along so I can get dressed." They did as she asked them and left the inn. Ariana sat on her bed stroking Tuggle's soft fur for a while, and soon summoned up the will to leave the inn and brave the busy world outside. She left the cozy room, and plodded down the inn stairs. She nodded to the innkeeper as she stepped outside into the bright sun. She shielded her eyes from the rays, and glanced around. A few people were chatting together, some were selling goods in the street, others just busily scooted about from one place to another.  
  
Ariana stepped out onto the cobblestone road and joined the rabble of people. As she walked around, she couldn't help but feel excited and curious about the Lindblum citizens. They all seemed so different from people on Earth. Around here, everyone had a mission, they all had a reason to be here, and they all seemed so nice. She felt very comfortable and at home in Lindblum. She promised herself that she would return there someday. The interesting, tiny shops that surrounded every street sold things that didn't even exist in her world. Her pockets were still empty though, so she could not buy anything.  
  
She visited each store just to look at its merchandise and talk to its owner. With each new person she met, she felt more and more determined to stay in Lindblum. She even rode an aircab around to see the different districts. After awhile of meandering aimlessly about the streets, her mind being wander again.  
  
Her thoughts consisted of her feelings about Garnet. She still couldn't decide if she wanted to be friends with the Princess or not. She couldn't help but feel a little bad about the way she'd been treating her, but Dagger deserved a little making fun of. After all, Garnet was a Princess, and Ariana didn't like snooty people. But that was until she'd found out Dagger wasn't snooty, just a little too nice.  
  
Maybe Zidane was attracted to the Princess because she was so unattainable. She'd heard once before that men usually went for the women that they knew they couldn't get. Why was she worried about him anyway? He had nothing to offer her but frustration. His flirtatious antics bothered her, but not when he was flirting with her.  
  
Ariana concluded that she was just the jealous type, and thought nothing more of it. If Zidane wanted the Princess, then she was fine with it. So, since this wasn't Garnet's fault, Ariana decided she would try to be friends with her.  
  
Before she realized it, she had gotten herself lost in Lindblum. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she hadn't noticed where she was going. A strange smell was about the air, and Tuggle tittered nervously in her ear. Nobody was around, and Ariana felt a chill go down her spine. She shivered, and tugged her jacket tightly about her arms, as she walked forward. Her footsteps echoed loudly against the walls around her, and she heard the wind whistle loudly in her ears. Then she saw it.  
  
A large, ferocious-looking Fang stood before, it's teeth bared as it growled and licked its lips hungrily at her. "Oh, no! The Festival of the Hunt!" She had forgotten about it completely. Tuggle, having noticed the savage beast, flew into a frenzy and clawed at her jacket to hide inside it. She felt the small creature shiver against her stomach, and she zipped her jacket up to free her hands. Ariana didn't dare move in fear of the beast attacking her, so she let her hand down cautiously, keeping her eye on the Fang, and reached slowly for her blade. It's dark, malevolent eyes watched her every move, and it growled even louder as it watched the blade glint in the light of the sun. It stepped forward.  
  
Suddenly, it pounced on her, before she could do anything, and wildly pawed at her jacket. She pushed the heavy creature off of her, and stood up to face it. With her sword, she thrust into the beast's stomach, and she cringed with disgust as it fell on her, twitching and bleeding. Ariana sighed with relief, but looked up to see another, larger, more ferocious creature advancing towards her. She bolted down the street in search of a place to hide, but all door's were shut, and she found no safe nook or cranny in which to hide herself from the rabid beasts.  
  
Ariana decided to fight for her life, and turned around to face the drooling, furious beast. It's red eyes glinted with hunger as it saw her stop and draw her blade. She ran at ir, her blood pumping, but before she could get to the monster, two people dropped down from the roof above her, and blocked her path. They attacked the beast, which was immediately demolished. The people turned around, and Ariana realized that it was Zidane and Freya.  
  
"Oh!" she said, stunned. "Th-thank you." Ariana stammered, trying to catch her breath.  
  
"You could've been killed!" Zidane exclaimed. "What's wrong with you!? I told you the Hunt was today! Now, get up. Time's wasting. Stay with me." At this, Freya flew off in search or more beasts to fight.  
  
Ariana got up, not knowing what else to do, and stayed with Zidane as he fought several monsters, and finally, after killing many, the Festival of the Hunt was over and the winners were awarded their prizes. In the Lindblum throneroom,.Zidane happily received the first place prize of 5000 Gil and the Master Hunter. He winked at the Princess, and Ariana yearned to know what this meant, so she decided to ask him. She was about to tap him on the shoulder, when she noticed that a very broken-down looking person had just hobbled into the room. It looked like a male version of Freya, so he must have also come from Burmecia.  
  
"Regent," the Burmecian said, cringing as though it were painful to speak. "Please forgive my intrusion. I bring urgent news... from our king."  
  
Ariana ran to help the man support himself, and as she looked at him, she realized the poor man had been blinded due to an injury.  
  
Regent Cid inquired of the man who was obviously a Burmecian soldier, "From the King of Burmecia?"  
  
"Yes, our kingdom is being attacked by some unknown force! We are severely outmatched! Please send reinforcements immediately!" the desperate soldier replied. "The enemy looks like an army of mages wearing...steeple- crowned hats."  
  
Both Vivi and the oglopish Cid sat up suddenly with surprise and fear in their eyes.  
  
"The king and I are old friends. We will send reinforcements to Burmecia immediately," Cid responded.  
  
The ragged soldier then managed to whisper a gracious thanks to Cid. "Thank you, Regent! The king...and all of Burmecia will be most grateful! I must...return now..." And with a last "...Ugh," the pitiful soldier collapsed in Ariana's arms.  
  
"Oh!" she exclaimed, and felt a tear come to her eyes. 


	16. Chapter 16 Burst of Courage

Chapter 16  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 9 at all. Only Ariana and Tuggle!  
  
Author's Note - Alright, alright! (Here's my fist, where's the fight?) After many long months of no chapter updating, I've returned and with a vengeance. * Bwahaha * Beware. * Ahem * So anyways, I've gone back and edited every single chapter, added new ideas and stuff, fixed a lot of typos and grammar errors, and redid some crappy parts. Overall, I'd say it's looking pretty good now. So to the people who've read this before: read it again and start over with it, because there's a new "character" (a Mu!) that I added in that wasn't in there before I edited it. And to everyone else, enjoy!! _______________________________________________________________________  
  
"Take this poor soldier to the infirmary," barked Cid, as he watched the dying Burmecian.  
  
Ariana couldn't help but cry as she lowered the man gently onto the marble floor of the throneroom. He had died in her arms, requesting that the Regent send help to his fallen country, Burmecia. "It's too late," she declared amid sobs, "he is already dead."  
  
Freya too had tears in her eyes, but a glint of anger and sadness shone in them. "I must go now," she hurriedly explained while looking at the soldier. "I cannot sit here and wait for reinforcements, Regent."  
  
A sudden burst of emotion spilled into Ariana's heart, and she felt hatred for whoever had attacked Freya's country. "I will go with you, Freya," she said eagerly.  
  
"I am coming, also," Zidane added, stepping forward, one hand on his blade.  
  
"No," Freya said to them, "This does not concern you."  
  
Ariana shook her head and replied with a rush of courage, "I may not be Burmecian, but I am compassionate and I care for people who need help. I want to help, and I will go to fight for Burmecia whether you'd like me to or not."  
  
Zidane nodded in agreeance. "Yeah, Freya. What's this, I'm a stranger all of a sudden!? I'm not gonna sit back and watch your home get destroyed, alright?"  
  
At Ariana's side, little Vivi spoke up and stated that he, too, would join the fight for Freya's homeland.  
  
The noble Burmecian bowed her head graciously to them and said, ".Thank you."  
  
The princess, who had been quiet through this, also came forward and proclaimed that she would aid in protecting Burmecia. However, Steiner held her back.  
  
"Wuh? I want to go, Steiner!" Garnet yelled, pushing his hands off of her.  
  
Regent Cid then said, "Princess, Steiner is right, you should stay here. It could be very dangerous. You may be killed."  
  
Garnet looked down at the floor and said nothing, but Ariana could tell that she was silently fuming at not being included in the mission that would soon come to be. Ariana almost felt sorry for her, but like Cid said, the Princess could be killed and needed to stay there for her safety.  
  
After much discussion, a feast was prepared and everyone sat around the large table. Freya, however, did not seem to enjoy the feast quite so much as everyone else. Zidane, having noticed this, said to her, "Freya, we can't do anything until Dragon's Gate is opened anyway, so you may as well eat."  
  
Freya nodded. "You're right," she answered and began eating.  
  
Ariana chewed her food in silence, enjoying it immensely. Suddenly however, she began to feel very sleepy. Her eyelids grew heavy, and fluttered shut. The last thing she heard was the Princess saying, "Believe me, this was not what I had planned. I had no choice. Uncle Cid would never let me leave the castle." 


End file.
